Angelique Kerber Wins the U.S. Open Singles Tournament

Angelique Kerber won the U.S. Open Women's Singles Tournament Saturday afternoon, defeating Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic to take the trophy. Kerber, who arrived from Germany as the tournament's No. 2 seed, won the first set 6-3, lost the second 4-6, and came back in the third to win 4-6.

The match, which was played in pretty miserable conditions (89 degrees and 60 percent humidity), had high stakes for a final: Serena Williams' No. 1 title was up for grabs after Pliskova defeated her in Thursday night's semifinals. Earlier in the tournament, Williams had made tennis history by winning her 308th Grand Slam—more than any other player to date, male or female.

If she'd won Saturday's match, Pliskova would have become only the 10th woman in the world to defeat the world's No. 1 and No. 2 ranked players: Serena Williams, who was out of the tournament after losing to Pliskova in Thursday's semifinals, and Kerber.

Kerber, meanwhile, is enjoying the best year of her career, and at 28 is the oldest player to take the No. 1 title—a pretty sweet reward to cap off a season of hard work.